At last, a surefire way to find the perfect baby name!
The Latest Baby-Naming Trend Flips the Script for a Cool Gender-Neutral Twist
Published on Mar. 06, 2025
Finding the perfect baby name can sometimes feel fraught. Should you honor a beloved family member or lean into the zeitgeist? Among the many names on my own list were Gordon, after my father, and Linus—but my husband wasn’t a fan of either. My brother-in-law lobbied hard for Hector (to no avail). In the end, we had a daughter, and then another girl two years later, so these names went unused.
But the truth is, you don’t always have to do a deep dive for the ideal baby name. In fact, the answer could be very close at hand. Read on for a baby-naming tactic gaining popularity and some handy inspiration for boy and girl names. And who knows—one of these could be just the ticket for your wee one on the way.
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What naming technique is even more popular now?
Drum roll, please! The savvy experts at Namerology told Today that choosing a surname for a baby’s first name is gaining popularity. That’s right: The last shall now be first. But the reason for this may be less about actual popularity and more due to accepted tradition.
Using last names as first names is rather mainstream today, says Rebekah Wahlberg, a specialist in baby-name trends at BabyCenter. And “last names also have a gender-neutral appeal, which also might explain why they continue to be popular as first names,” she adds.
Wahlberg reports that, according to BabyCenter data on the most popular names for boys and girls, there are loads of these surname first names, including Harper, Riley and Kinsley, in the top 50 girl names. Last names like Hudson, Grayson, Mason, Jackson, Carter, Waylon and Logan all make the list of the top 50 boy names.
Are last names as first names really a new trend?
You may be noticing more first names that look a lot like last names, but while this is a popular naming technique today, it’s not a new baby-name trend. The custom has been in place for ages.
“This practice has been recorded for centuries as a way to display the connection of two powerful families who were united through marriage,” explains Wahlberg. “A bride might [have used] her maiden name as her firstborn’s given name, and along with the father’s surname, the child’s full name represented the families’ union. It was also done to preserve a surname if a family only had daughters and the name wouldn’t be passed on as a last name.”
Laura Wattenberg, the creator of Namerology, shared examples of last names as firsts through the years: Milton and Sidney were popular in 1910, and Curtis and Stewart hit it big in the 1950s. Last names like Kelly (my own maiden name) were big in the 1970s, and recently, the 1990s and 2010s saw parents opting for Taylor and Cooper.
What’s the 2025 twist on this old favorite?
What’s old is new, right? Well, maybe if you add a modern twist. Per Namerology’s research, last names ending in s (think Hayes, Brooks and Collins) are popular for babies’ first names right now. It looks like Hilary Duff got the trend memo early—last year she chose Townes for her fourth child, a daughter. And she has an older girl with an equally trendy s last name used as a first name, Banks.
Other popping styles this year include surnames that end in little-used letters, like w (as in Harlow and Winslow) and x (à la Lennox and Knox). Cameron Diaz favors x names—she gave her daughter one, Raddix. And rock-and-roll inspiration is newsy too, with parents now snagging famous singers’ last names, including Jagger, Lennon and Hendrix, for their infants’ first names.
Popular last names as first names for boys
- Bradley
- Carroll
- Clark
- Emerson
- Everly
- Holt
- Hunter
- Keats
- Knight
- Nash
- Reeve
- Remington
- Sawyer
- Wells
- West
Popular last names as first names for girls
- Ashley
- Bronte
- Carson
- Courtney
- Dallas
- Finley
- Harlow
- Jules
- Kelsey
- Lake
- Marlowe
- Monroe
- Riley
- Rowan
- Quinn
Are there other last-as-first-name trends on the horizon?
Yes! Wahlberg reports that last-as-first-name trends continue to top the baby-name charts. “Examples include Walker and Oakley, which are both last names turned first names that ranked in the BabyCenter top 100 for the first time ever in 2024, and they don’t show any sign of leaving soon,” she points out. “And Parker is a last name that’s been in the top 100 for boys for a few years, but it’s also climbing the ranks for girls and might get a boost now, due to Parker Posey’s performance in HBO’s The White Lotus.”
How can you make your choice even more meaningful?
To make your baby-name choice even more meaningful, you could recognize an honored family member. Using a grandmother’s maiden name is one way to go, but you can also select a last name from a close friend or the name of a place, such as a summer camp or a lake you recall fondly.
As for middle names, “keep in mind that the same ‘rules’ apply,” says Wahlberg. “Look for a middle name that sounds good with the rest of the name or that has a special meaning to you.”
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Sources:
- Rebekah Wahlberg, specialist in baby-name trends at BabyCenter; email interview, Feb. 21, 2025
- Today: “The hottest baby name trend is using last names as first names”
- BabyCenter: “Gender neutral names”
- BabyCenter: “Most popular baby names of 2024”
